Monthly Archives: May 2015

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Interested in working with a start-up studio? Train2Game student studio BearGames on the lookout for additional team members

BearGames is looking for team members to join them in creating some really cool and exciting games. For junior developers working in a student studio is a great way to broaden your games industry network, have some fun and create content for a portfolio.

There are three team members in BearGames, the team are looking to expand to produce more work and complete their games. The team are currently working on a strategy spaceship game and have some huge plans for the future. In Particular BearGames is looking for team members with skills in: Development, Artistry/Animation and Music.
We spoke with team leader, Daniel Bartlett, 18, from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, to find out more about his journey in games, experiences so far on Train2Game, the studio and the games they are working on.

“I realised I wanted to study game design when I would be sat in class or in my room thinking of ideas for games. And when I played games I would always be thinking ‘how could this game be better?’”

“Then one day searching through the internet to see how easy it was to become a games designer, I came across the Train2Game website. I liked what I saw so applied. A month later I had a phone call saying someone will be round to make sure this is what and then I started.”

“Studying Games Design at Train2Game is great because I study when I want and at my own pace. But when I get to a point I get stuck on, other students help me more than the tutor team does!”

“My team is called BearGames. We are currently made up of three people: me as the Games Designer, Finance, Marketing and Leader. Macaulay Tennant as the developer who I met on the 2014 fun day on Minecraft, Fabio Rodrigues as artist and animator who I recruited from the Train2Game FB page.”

“Both of them are great people and we are all great friends that can have a laugh and play games together. We are currently looking for another Developer and Artist/Animator to help on the work load and most importantly we need someone who is good at sounds and music.”

“We are currently working on a command your own spaceship fleet to defeat the aliens. It will include a campaign and various multiplayer modes so you can work in a team or on your own to complete different objectives. We don’t have a name for it yet but we do have most of the art work completed.”

“It is a combat strategy game, players will use a different strategy for each level that you will decide from either a pre-set group or one that the you created yourself. While shooting at the aliens who’s strategy will be constantly changing throughout each level.”

“For the success of our game we want to build a fan base that can help us fundraise for our next bigger game. We want to work with another studio to include voice activation in our games to make them more fun and interactive for the player.”

“We already have our next game planned and will be a much bigger project. Our long team goal is to become a well-known game studio that creates games we want and to make, games the community wants by using the ideas they have and putting some ideas together, then making games for You Tubers and other famous people in the games world.”

“My personal dream is to become the leader of a big games studio based in the UK that creates games for the community and to give a percentage of our profits to charity.”

If you’re interested in working with BearGames you can email mark@train2game.com with a copy of your cv.

Tickets for PLAY Expo, the North’s biggest gaming expo have gone on sale this morning. The show will take place at EventCity, Manchester on 10th and 11th October 2015.

PLAY Expo is in its fourth year in Manchester and has more than doubled in size over that time. Hundreds of screens of next-gen, indie and retro games as well as eSports, cosplay and stars of film and TV pulled 19,000 attendees through the doors of the highly-successful two day event last October.

Replay Events Director Andy Brown said “PLAY Expo 2014 was a huge leap forward for us in terms of scale and ambition but we delivered a knockout show that our attendees absolutely loved. The bar has been set very high for PLAY Expo this year, but we already have plans underway to smash all previous records out of the water.

Show features we introduced last year such as celebrity signings, our careers fair and Youtuber meet and greets will be expanded plus we are adding even more new content for 2015 including an area dedicated to the immensely popular Minecraft, where we will be running a Hunger Games tournament and a creative build server. Of course this won’t be at the expense of any of the other parts of the show – we know how passionate our attendees are about all aspects of PLAY Expo.

We pride ourselves on being the most diverse gaming expo in the UK – where else can you see so many of the latest games and technologies alongside arcades, pinballs, retro consoles and computers? The response we get from the gaming community is overwhelming, we’re immensely proud of what the show has become and we look forward to delivering yet another phenomenal event to our audience and partners this October.”

PLAY Expo 2015 will also feature the UK’s largest arcade and pinball display, industry speakers, movie props and vehicles, card and board games, merchandise plus a host of other features. More announcements will be made in the coming months. Further information and tickets are available from www.playexpo.net.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced that EA SPORTS™ FIFA 16 will feature 12 Women’s National Teams for the first time in franchise history when it launches starting on September 22, 2015 in North America.

Women’s National Teams from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the United States of America will all represent their respective federations in several FIFA 16 game modes including Kick Off, an Offline Tournament, as well as Online Friendly Matches.

“Bringing some of the best women’s players and teams in the world to our franchise is a massive event for EA SPORTS, and we are equally excited about bringing millions of fans a new way to play,” said David Rutter, VP and GM, EA SPORTS FIFA. “We’re making sure fans get an authentic experience when playing with Women’s National Teams thanks to our innovative player capture and reference tools, as well as the sophisticated gameplay platform which we will continue to innovate on in FIFA 16.”

From all new player movement and likeness, to realistic animations and attributes, the FIFA development team have authentically recreated 12 of the top-ranked teams in the world. Capturing all new player movement was done with meticulous detail and supported by a motion capture session at EA Canada with four top players from United States Women’s National Team: Sydney Leroux, Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, and Megan Rapinoe. The players’ movements helped to build new locomotion for women in FIFA 16 including new walks, runs, sprints, and horizontal movement. Soccer Canada also visited EA to provide full-player references captured using the 360 degree body scanning rig – the references were then used to develop new player models. And the mobile headscanning unit travelled to a variety of tournaments and events around the world to capture facial features including hairstyles to ensure players look as realistic as possible in FIFA 16. Players in the game will look and move in game like they do on the pitch when representing their country.

“I honestly can’t believe all of the science and technology behind the game itself, let alone getting us into the motion capture suits and eventually into the game,” said Abby Wambach, world record holder for International goals scored and forward, United States Women’s National Team. “We’re all excited to see ourselves in the game, but even more excited to see the reaction from all of the fans, including the fans of our team that maybe wouldn’t be expecting something like this from EA SPORTS.”

FIFA 16 with Women’s National Teams will be available when the game launches on Origin™ on PC, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, Xbox 360® games and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems.

The following is written by developer, Nathan Meunier. It is his own description of an interesting project that blurs the lines between gaming and writing, This Book Is A Dungeon [This Dungeon Is A Book]:

Greetings, humans of the EARTH and BEYOND! Nathan Meunier, a fellow human [and not cat cyborg like some suspect] on the Internet, is psyched to announce the pre-order and playable demo for his upcoming weird horror dungeon crawler Twine game + bookumentary + self-publishing experiment thingy, This Book Is A Dungeon [This Dungeon Is A Book].

This concludes the talking about myself in the third person portion of the press release.

So…wait, what is this hybrid indie game / self-publishing book project… thingy?

In a nutshell, it’s:

1) A dark, horror-tinged Twine game dungeon crawler…
2) …being distributed inside a paid Kindle book on Amazon…
3) …that documents the entire development/design process as well as the inner workings of this entire strange self-publishing / indie game hybrid experiment.

It’s a game, a bookumentary, a detailed game dev diary, and a self-publishing experiment all rolled into one. TBIAD comes from my interest in merging the world of writing and indie publishing with the world of independent game design and distribution. I don’t believe anything quite like this has been done before, I think, so this is sort of a big weird experiment to see what happens.

Also, I’m LEARNING how to use Twine and creating the entire thing (the book and game) from start to finish in under two months. Yup. It’s a little cray.

Pre-order, demo, and details:

Pre-order discount: Folks can pre-order the book/dev diary now on Amazon via Kindle for $6.99 and get a 30 percent discount. The game itself will be included via a link in the back of the book. The pre-order page, and additional details, can be found here:

Demo: I’ve launched a playable demo featuring one of the first chunks of the game. It’s dark, gnarly, and features lots of ways to die, branching paths, and high replayability to explore. Here’s the link. Feel free to share this. You’ll find some screenshots here as well.

Jagex are looking for a QA tester. However, being a QA tester in the Old School team is so much more than you think.

You’ll be bringing your ideas to design meetings to help the company decide how the studio can best implement the players’ ideas. In time you’ll be creating content while under the mentorship of the content developers.

You’ll be answering the questions from the community in the live streams and on video. You’ll be using your understanding of the community to make every update as community focused as possible, but most importantly, you’ll be helping to turn the community’s wishes into reality.

You’ll need to be incredibly community focused and passionate about making Old School the best game it can be. You’ll need to be able to listen to the community and not be afraid to change your opinions based on what they say and you’ll need to know what happens when you use a herring on a tree.

You must live and breathe Old School, you must be a walking Old School wiki page and you must be able to work well with the Old School team.

You will be an integral part of the Old School team and Jagex strive to give their community the best!

If you haven’t applied yet, then have a look at the extra details on the site below and apply!

Fancensus is proud to unveil a brand new Alerts System for E3, an innovative way to keep up-to-date on all your products’ PR and Social activity during the expo.

Kerri Davies Fancensus Founder and Managing Director excitedly added “Having experienced firsthand the whirlwind that is E3, I know how difficult it is to keep up-to-date with product PR. With customised PR and Social alerts sent straight to your email or phone, this no longer needs to be a problem. I truly believe that our sophisticated and easy-to-use Alerts System will be an essential tool for all in the industry.”

With tailored alerts sent directly to your email or phone, the bite-size updates will be your first insight into how the world is reacting to newly announced games.

Fancensus is the leading business intelligence provider covering the global interactive entertainment industry.

For over 10 years, Fancensus.com continues to compile, research and analyze the successes and failures to provide unique insights from its bespoke FanTech engine, Fancensus.com gives products managers through to senior board level members a seamless decision meaning real time information resource at their fingertips.

Developed by Hipster Whale (Crossy Road) and BANDAI NAMCO Studios Vancouver, this free-to-play game will be available for smartphones and tablets in summer 2015.

PAC-MAN 256 allows players to enjoy a brand new genre of PAC-MAN games; the iconic character created by NAMCO in 1980 will star in an endless maze chased by the infamous “256 Glitch”! Hipster Whale and BANDAI NAMCO Studios Vancouver have perfectly recaptured creator Iwatani Toru’s original PAC-MAN universe for a modern day mobile experience. Players can expect to encounter plenty of Pac-Dots, Power Pellets, and the notorious ghost ensemble: Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde. PAC-MAN 256 will also feature coins, power-ups and more to spice-up the thrilling pursuit.

“The gaming industry keeps on growing massively on a daily basis and we, at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe, are proud to be pioneers of this with some of the biggest licenses out there! This year, we are celebrating PAC-MAN’s 35th Anniversary and we couldn’t miss such an opportunity: we decided to create a brand new exciting game with Hipster Whale and BANDAI NAMCO Studios Vancouver. This results in a stirring game based on some elements that made history. Join us in celebrating PAC-MAN’s anniversary!” said Tatsuya Kubota, Head of Mobile & Web Gaming at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe S.A.S.

“We are thrilled to be working with the creators of the huge hit Crossy Road in creating a new PAC-MAN game for his 35th Anniversary. We’re already seeing incredibly strong, hooking gameplay in the early prototypes, and cannot wait to share this experience with everyone!” said Daisuke Hattori, Project Manager of PAC-MAN 256 at BANDAI NAMCO Studios Vancouver Inc.

Hipster Whale Director, Matthew Hall, who was just five years old when PAC-MAN™ was born, shared his enthusiasm about Hipster Whale collaborating with BANDAI NAMCO on PAC-MAN 256. “Playing PAC-MAN in a seaside arcade in 1980 is one of my earliest memories. It is an incredible honor to be able to contribute to one of the most iconic video game franchises in history. Our game, PAC-MAN 256, takes the infamous ‘glitch’ level of PAC-MAN and builds upon this to become a unique game that retains the retro spirit of the original.”

Big games out this week with The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt beating out Farming Simulator 15 for number one spot, leaving the virtual farm in second.. Further down the chart Sony Entertainments Bloodborne has entered the charts at number eleven.

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

WB Games UK has teamed up with twenty of the most exciting contemporary artists and media celebrities to celebrate the launch of Batman: Arkham Knight with a new exhibition reimagining the Caped Crusader’s iconic Cape and Cowl headpiece.

Using life-sized replicas of Batman’s famous costume as a blank canvas, each artist and celebrity will produce their own unique interpretation of the Dark Knight’s attire.

Featuring celebrities from the worlds of TV, film, music and fashion, such as Jonathan Ross, Jodie Kidd and Noel Clarke and high profile artists such as Nancy Fouts, Lauren Baker, Hayden Kays, Inkie, Pam Glew, INSA, The Connor Brothers, Zeus, Matt Small, Jon Burgerman, Case, CRASH, Lucas Price, Kid Acne, Logan Hicks and Pure Evil, the exhibition will run through launch week in an immersive Gotham City-inspired location in Central London. Details of how to secure tickets to this event will be confirmed in due course.

Fans will be able to catch an early sneak peak of a few of the exhibits on the WB Games stand at the MCM London Comic-Con at ExCeL from 22nd -24th May, as well as see the life-size Batman: Arkham Knight Batmobile, built by West Coast Customs.

Batman: Arkham Knight will be available from 23rd June on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

For the very first time, GINX brings live eSport to TV with ESL, the world’s largest eSports brand, at MCM Comic Con for the UK Premiership Grand Final in London this weekend.

Watch GINX TV Saturday 23rd of May, 9AM to 2PM on Virgin Media channel 286 in the UK for live coverage from the MCM eSports Arena during the League of Legends Grand Final of the ESL UK Premiership, including commentary, interviews with pro players, and expert analysis of the best moments from the event.

ESL UK’s hotly anticipated League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Grand Final Premiership will take place during MCM London Comic Con from the 22nd of May, with the UK’s best LoL and CSGO teams. The MCM London Comic Con eSports arena boasts 800 seats and two projector screens to watch the professional players in action, competing to dominate the arena for glory and £12,000 prize money.

The League of Legends Spring 2015 UK Semi-Finalists include Choke Gaming v. Rift Gaming and Team Infused versus FM-eSports; while Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Semi-Finalists include XENEX opposite FM-eSports, and EZskins v. Team Infused.

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About the Train2Game blog

Welcome to the official Train2Game blog, a key source of games industry news and discussion for everyone from developers to Train2Game students and their parents.
You can find out more about both our Editor and Train2Game on our About page.

Train2Game Blogger Mark

Don't forget you can find out more about Mark on our about page, above.